Split shake



Sept. 9, 1930.

S'PLIT sHAx Filed April 18, 1928 2 sheets-shut 2 F. L. DIE-rz Y l 1375,45()- Patented Sept. 9, v1930 `iafnANK i,fnInTzL `or SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, AssreNOn `To Non-THrAcrn-*ic camital i )i y i y Application ered April 1s, i iMyz invention relates to split shakes ofthe Ageneral type shown in Patent No. 1,577,935 tO J ohnGRunkle, andvin `my Patent No. 1,663,- -9O5 \-3 w f, i ,15vwHand-fsplitfshakes madeot high quality verticalffgrain Western; red cedar and like Woods, andzeither split 'taperingas disclosed in my former patent,1or"resawn` from ordinary handV split shakes' :as described in the Runkle patent, have been-used in increasing numbers' Where` it is desired to adda `rustic touchtofa house. Such shakes'may be used either on the side Walls, or on the roof. HOW- ever,'in some instances, `the Owners of houses on which such shakes-have been put, complain that thefshakes are toofuni'i'orm, and have not` the rusticappearance desired, due, primarily, to the' fact that the cedar is of such quality (as it mustheto makelarge shakes from)-1that 'it splits too evenly and smoothly, andithere is not:suiicientbreak in the surface of the shakes* Though one is conscious of it Whenl close `to the side Walloifa house covered with split shakes, this uniformity is especially noticeable from aldistance, Where the slight 'corrugations and channels, due to the vagaries of the grain, are not visible, and When such a root1 is viewed .fromjbelow, and nearly inV the* plane of the roof, when the buttsaremost prominent; These butts, being inV the main formed 'with an 1 ordinary f froW, y or with such a lfrowand a saw, appear quite as straight as the butts of ordinary saWed shingles, andlay quite as tightly.` This tends to produce an altogether uniform appearance, which" `s` not consistent With therusticity Which-such owners have ekxpectechland desire. ""As has beenfstated, the cedar, from which such shakes must be split, must be of the `highest quality; the grain must he perfect, `for wavy-grained Wood cannot he,used"satisactorily for the lnanufactureoi such shakes. It follows, then, that when such `Wood is split it Willsplit very nearly perfectly to al plane, and" there will be little in the way of angled 'or inclined surfaces to catch the eye, or to reflect light,an`d to give the eifectof a broken suri'ace` 1 i "111 Accordingly, itis my Object in the present invention, to produce a shake Which has a i, sPLiT SHARE ,rRODUcTs/"OoanonATIom OF ,snATTLn WASHINGTON, A cOnrOnATIONor` WAsn surfaceiwhich produces 4the appearance ofr,

heilig quite irregular, and Which-is infact rldged, or corrugated. It is, of course, a further objectito control the corrugations in such a manner that, though appearing quite ir regular, they are in fact all Within a common plane, at least the upper portions of the prin'r cipal ridges, so that `succeeding courses Ycan be laid sufiiciently tight to prevent any pos-` sibility of leakage, and Withoutthe possihili-` ty of the shakes in these succeeding courses b`eing` cocked to one side or` at an angle to ithe general plane of thecourse. y J i i Associated With these objects, itis a" `further object to provide a butt edge, at least the edge ofthe hutt Whichis to heuppermost, which is` waved` to` give the impression of -irregularity when viewed from `beloW,that` is when `the `shake is viewed end on. f i

A further Objectis the provisio such` a n Or sha-ke', which has longitudinal channels for drainage which, by virtue' of being larger than those Ordinarily and naturallyprovided, Willtend` better to accumulate the Water in large drops and thus facilitate and assist `in its draining 0H.. 1

A furtherobject isthe provision of a frow whereby such shakes as have been described may he split out so `that the shakes can be thus produced at one operation, andrequire no further operation upon them.` i

In,` thisspeciiication'lshall employthc ter1n`shake to mean a board, Whether tapering -from butt to tip, or of substantially the same thickness throughout, and Whether `resavvn, according to the'Runkle patent, or split entirely, so longas the board has one lor more 'faces which are naturally split from the block. My invention is applicable' to shakes of all descriptions, asthus delined, and hence may apply to Rnnklesresawn shakes or to the hand split taperedjshakes of'my former patent. i Y i, i H f f My invention `comprises the n,ovel"shake, and the novel frow, `for splittingithe saine, as shov'vn'in the accompanying drawings, ide# scribed inthe. speciiicat-ion, and particularly i, i

defined bythe claims terminating the same. 'i In the accompanying `drawings I `have shown a single type of shake,`andthe trogv for making this or other types of shake, both in typical forms to illustrate the principle of the invention.

Figure l, is a perspective view of a finished straight shake, ready for resawing according to the Runkle patent.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the block from which such a shake is cut, illustrating the line of cleavage of a second shake.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the frow in splitting out such shakes.

Figure et is an edge view of such a frow.

Figure 5 is a side elevation thereof.

My invention is largely understandable from an inspection of the drawings. However, it should be pointed out that with t-he frow 5, having its entering edge 50 provided with a plurality of corrugations, that is to say, waved as seen in edge View (see Figure 4), and having a broadened back 5l, or like means to permit it to be struck and driven into a block, it is a simple matter to cut from a block, as 2, a plurality of shakes which are of like thickness from end to end, by simply splitting olf the successive shakes from one side of the block, without reversing the block end for end. Should the block be reversed end for end, tapered shakes will be split olf according to the process disclosed in my former patent, referred to above. Either method may be employed, according to the type of shake desired. However, to illustrate the principle, and as will be noted in Figure 2, after splitting off one shake, the frow is placed at a line of cleavage 20, back from the split edge 2l a distance equal to thickness desired in the next shake, and the frow is driven home along the line of cleavage 20, whereupon the next shake is pried off, and the same steps repeated.

The product, in this particular instance, is the shake shown in Figure l. The edge l0 of this shake may be taken as the edge which corresponds to the line of cleavage 20 in Figf ure 2, while t-he edge 1l corresponds to the line of cleavage at 2l of the block. The face l2 will be seen to have a number of corrugations, or ridges, these continuing throughout the length of the shake, and corresponding to the ridges started by the wavy edged frow along the butt edges 10 and 1l, splitting` towards the far end of the shake shown in Figure l. At the far end it will be seen that vthese ridges 12 are still distinct, though there is sometendency to run out at this end. lVestern red cedar, and like woods of which shakes are commonly made, is of such iine grain and splits so perfectly that these ridges will cxtend at least half the Vlength of the shakes, to be distinct and to give the exaggerated effect which is required. Towards the far end they may, perhaps, tend to run out, but the grain of the wood will still preserve these ridges and they will be sutliciently distinct `to show up properly, even though the far end be used Each suchy tapered shake as the butt of the shake. As a matter of fact, it is desirable that the effect be not too uniform, and it is an advantage to have part of the shakes with highly exaggerated ridges, and others with less exaggerated ridges, so that the roofmay be broken up, and the effect of uniformity relieved.

Such a shake, as shown in Figure l, may be used without change, but ordinarily, to ysave stock, and to enable them to be laid as shingles are laid, it is desirableto saw them diag` onally along the line 3 and 30, thus yproducing two tapered shakes from one straight shake. will have a sawed surface, and a ridged, or corrugated, surface, which will be placed uppermost when laying the shakes. These ridges too, will form larger drainage channels, and water will tend to collect in these larger channels, rather than follow down the individual small channels, and thus, through the accumulation of drops, will ai'iord better1r and quicker drainage.

As has been stated such a froW may be employed in the production of tapered shakes, according to the methods of my prior patent, and such shakes will only differ from` thetapered shake prepared according to the Runkle process, by having two naturally split and exaggeratedly corrugated faces, either of which may be placed uppermost.

What I claim as my invention is l. A shake having a surface naturally split, and exaggeratedly corrugated to emphasize the natural surface irregularities.

2. A shake having a split surface, and with the natural corrugations thereof exaggerated.

3. A shake having a split surface, and with the natural corrugations exaggerated, the ridges of the several principal corrugations in general defining a plane.

4. A shake tapered from its butt to its tip, the upper face being split to present an exaggeratedly corrugated surface. Y

5. As an intermediate product, a split shake of substantially like thickness from one end to another, a surface intended for exposure in use having the natural corrugations exaggerated.

6. As van intermediate product, a shake of substantially the same thickness fromone end i to another, the two faces being naturally split with the natural corrugations exaggerated.

7. A shake sawed diagonally to taper from its butt towards its tip, the face opposite the sawed face being split to exaggerate the natural corrugations, and its under face being plane.

8. A shake tapering from its butt to its tip, the upper face being split to exaggerate `the natural corrugations, and its' under face being a sawn surface.

Signed at Seattle, King County, Washington this eleventh day of April, 1928.

FRANK L. D'IETZ. 

